It was noticeable how Eugene was worried. His gaze said a lot. And after the anthem was performed (fortunately, he did not try to sing along), the striker could not immediately put on his helmet. Trembling hands. And that is understandable. At first, the audience greeted with applause every action of Malkin, whether it was possession of the puck or its loss.
Head coach Michelle Terrien from the first seconds threw the famous rookie into battle. He went to the first faceoff, but immediately lost it. More precisely, he threw the puck under himself, but his opponent picked it up. Interestingly, Malkin's partner in the debut shift was Sidney Crosby, also the center forward.
Lost Eugene and the second input of the puck. After that, he rarely approached the “point”, giving up the right to play the disc to more experienced partners. We will have to work on this component. In the end, he won in five episodes, and lost in nine.
But Malkin created the first dangerous moment at the gates of others. In the 15th minute, he put the club under the throw of Mark Reka, the puck flew over Martin Brodo, but hit the crossbar. The Russian almost threw up his hands, celebrating success. But he stopped in time.
Thus, Eugene could not surpass the achievement of Mario Lemieux. After all, the famous player opened the gate to someone else with his first throw in the opening match. However, it is unlikely that the Russian was very upset. He is already tired of endless comparisons with the legend.
However, Malkin nevertheless noted his achievement: in the third period, the puck broke the protective glass after his throw. Lemieux did not begin his career. This is what strength you need to have strength to break through a stable plastic!
Even earlier, Eugene scored and the first goal. And Reka helped again: after a short break with him, Malkin played on finishing. Perhaps breaking the rules. In any case, Brodo began to appeal to the referee, claiming that he had already covered the disc before the throw. But the referee confidently recorded a goal. And not a single television replay gave an answer to the question of who is right: he or the goalkeeper.
Naturally, the puck was immediately taken to the Pittsburgh bench. But the hero expressed his emotions rather restrained. But the partners were triumphant, and everyone strove to put a glove in the face of a novice, congratulating on the success.
Despite the fact that the NHL did not accept handshakes after the game, the goalkeeper of the “devils” was the first to congratulate Malkin on his successful debut. Martin Brodot amicably clapped Eugene in the legs, he answered the same.
And you should probably remember the first numbers. Malkin spent 18 minutes 15 seconds on the ice. This is not the best, but not the worst indicator, given that he did not appear on the site in the minority. At the same time, he played 20 shifts. And he made two throws.
At the end of the game, the official website of the NHL discussed ticket prices in Ottawa, someone's Nazi trick, and the salary of one of the hockey players. And although the thread discussing Malkin's upcoming debut grew to 13 pages, nobody remembered the Russian that evening. The second issue of last year’s draft, which scandalously left his native country, has already become overseas.
The fly in the ointment that day was the lawsuit of the management of Metallurg to Pittsburgh, disputing the transfer of Eugene and filed in an American court. And while the Magnitogorsk club has few chances, there remains the possibility of a ban on Malkin from playing in the NHL. Then local fans will have to hide the plain banner: "Eugene, welcome to Pittsburgh."
Alexey Shevchenko